Mark Levin: ‘Unbridled Immigration, Legal and Illegal, Is Taking the Country Down’. * * *
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“The watchdogs at Judicial Watch discovered documents that reveal how the Obama administration's close coordination with the Mexican government entices Mexicans to hop over the fence and on to the American dole.” Washington Times

Sunday, October 10, 2010

U.S. Spares “Noncriminal” Illegal Immigrants Wed, 10/06/2010 - 11:18am As federal immigration officials celebrate an increase in the removal of illegal aliens with criminal records, the reality is that there has been a drastic decline in deportations of undocumented aliens deemed “noncriminal” by the government. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) revealed in a news story this week that more illegal immigrants with criminal convictions have been deported in recent years. This is driving up the number of people being removed from the United States, according to the article which was published in a northern California paper. The story has a colorful graph that helps illustrate how convicted criminals have made up an increasing percentage of U.S. deportations in the past few years. Of the 350,000 removed this year, the story says, more than half were convicted for crimes. That marks a 55% increase since 2008, according to ICE data provided for the article. While this may sound wonderful, the agency admits it’s essentially ignoring illegal immigrants who don’t have serious criminal histories, leading to a 30% drop in the number of so-called “noncriminal deportations.” Those figures include what ICE refers to as “voluntary departures,” illegal aliens who are actually given an option to return to their home country willingly. The statistics demonstrate a shift in the agency’s priorities to focus on extracting the most dangerous criminals, according to the feds’ public relations campaign. “But if we are looking at a guy who’s just here with his family trying to better his life vs. a repeat offender, our priority is the criminal,” said a northern California ICE field director. Americans will never know the magnitude of the agency’s selective deportation program because it’s illegally withholding data about its overall enforcement performance, despite President Obama’s promise to create an unprecedented level of openness in government.Earlier this week an independent research center that monitors the federal government revealed that ICE has committed serious legal and procedural violations for failing to disclose performance data on how the agency is enforcing immigration laws. In doing so, ICE is violating long standing provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as well as its own administrative rules and policies set by the Department of Justice.*REALITY CHECK: HOMELAND SECURITY is now HOMELAND SECURITY = PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP… Obama has no intentions of keeping illegals out. For him and the La Raza dems, Boxer, Feinstein, Clinton, Pelosi and Reid… they’re only “UNREGISTERED VOTERS”!*The numbers come in the middle of a heated national debate on immigration. Republicans and Democrats alike have called on the administration to pursue more vigorous enforcement, both on the border and in the interior, but Ms. Napolitano said federal officials have to use their limited resources to try to take the biggest public safety threats off the streets, which means focusing on aliens with serious criminal records.

President Obama's new immigration enforcement strategy led to a record number of criminal aliens being deported last year, but removals of other illegal immigrants fell to the lowest rate since 2007, before the Bush administration began a crackdown.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported 392,862 aliens in fiscal year 2010, slightly less than a 1 percent increase over 2009 but short of the agency's goal to remove 400,000 this year.

Still, the administration said its new focus on immigrants with criminal records is paying off, with about half of those deported in 2010 being convicted criminals. In 2009, when 389,834 immigrants were deported, only about one-third of them had criminal records.

"This administration takes very, very seriously the responsibility to secure the borders and enforce immigration laws," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in announcing the numbers Wednesday. The fiscal year ended Sept. 30.

The numbers come in the middle of a heated national debate on immigration. Republicans and Democrats alike have called on the administration to pursue more vigorous enforcement, both on the border and in the interior, but Ms. Napolitano said federal officials have to use their limited resources to try to take the biggest public safety threats off the streets, which means focusing on aliens with serious criminal records.

She and Mr. Obama have tried to cut a middle ground between those who favor a crackdown and the immigrant rights groups who want to see fewer deportations.

But by following that new course, ICE has fallen down on other basic enforcement, said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.

He said administrative arrests of illegal immigrant workers are down 77 percent under Mr. Obama, criminal arrests are down 60 percent and convictions are down 68 percent.

"Worksite enforcement has been all but forgotten by the Obama administration," the Texas Republican said. "Millions of Americans are struggling to find work, while an estimated 7 million illegal immigrants are working in the U.S. Worksite enforcement could help make those much-needed jobs available for U.S. citizen and legal immigrant workers."

Meanwhile, immigrant rights groups said the government is still not doing enough to limit deportations. *MEXICANOCCUPATION.blogspot.comFAIRUS.orgJUDICIALWATCH.orgALIPAC.usThe Administration's Phantom Immigration Enforcement PolicyAccording to DHS’s own reports, very little of our nation’s borders (Southwestern or otherwise) are secure, and gaining control is not even a goal of the department.By Ira MehlmanPublished on 12/07/2009Townhall.comThe setting was not quite the flight deck of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln with a “Mission Accomplished” banner as the backdrop, but it was the next best thing. Speaking at the Center for American Progress (CAP) on Nov. 13, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano declared victory over illegal immigration and announced that the Obama administration is ready to move forward with a mass amnesty for the millions of illegal aliens already living in the United States.Arguing the Obama administration’s case for amnesty, Napolitano laid out what she described as the “three-legged stool” for immigration reform. As the administration views it, immigration reform must include “a commitment to serious and effective enforcement, improved legal flows for families and workers, and a firm but fair way to deal with those who are already here.” Acknowledging that a lack of confidence in the government’s ability and commitment to effectively enforce the immigration laws it passes proved to be the Waterloo of previous efforts to gain amnesty for illegal aliens, Napolitano was quick to reassure the American public that those concerns could be put to rest.“For starters, the security of the Southwest border has been transformed from where it was in 2007,” stated the secretary. Not only is the border locked up tight, she continued, but the situation is well in-hand in the interior of the country as well. “We’ve also shown that the government is serious and strategic in its approach to enforcement by making changes in how we enforce the law in the interior of the country and at worksites…Furthermore, we’ve transformed worksite enforcement to truly address the demand side of illegal immigration.”If Rep. Joe Wilson had been in attendance to hear Secretary Napolitano’s CAP speech he might well have had a few choice comments to offer. But since he wasn’t, we will have to rely on the Department of Homeland Security’s own data to assess the veracity of Napolitano’s claims.According to DHS’s own reports, very little of our nation’s borders (Southwestern or otherwise) are secure, and gaining control is not even a goal of the department. DHS claims to have “effective control” over just 894 miles of border. That’s 894 out of 8,607 miles they are charged with protecting. As for the other 7,713 miles? DHS’s stated border security goal for FY 2010 is the same 894 miles.The administration’s strategic approach to interior and worksite enforcement is just as chimerical as its strategy at the border, unless one considers shuffling paper to be a strategy. DHS data, released November 18, show that administrative arrests of immigration law violators fell by 68 percent between 2008 and 2009. The department also carried out 60 percent fewer arrests for criminal violations of immigration laws, 58 percent fewer criminal indictments, and won 63 percent fewer convictions.While the official unemployment rate has climbed from 7.6 percent when President Obama took office in January to 10 percent today, the administration’s worksite enforcement strategy has amounted to a bureaucratic game of musical chairs. The administration has all but ended worksite enforcement actions and replaced them with paperwork audits. When the audits determine that illegal aliens are on the payroll, employers are given the opportunity to fire them with little or no adverse consequence to the company, while no action is taken to remove the illegal workers from the country. The illegal workers simply acquire a new set of fraudulent documents and move on to the next employer seeking workers willing to accept substandard wages.In Janet Napolitano’s alternative reality a mere 10 percent of our borders under “effective control” and sharp declines in arrests and prosecutions of immigration lawbreakers may be construed as confidence builders, but it is hard to imagine that the American public is going to see it that way. If anything, the administration’s record has left the public less confident that promises of future immigration enforcement would be worth the government paper they’re printed on.As Americans scrutinize the administration’s plans to overhaul immigration policy, they are likely to find little in the “three-legged stool” being offered that they like or trust. The first leg – enforcement – the administration has all but sawed off. The second – increased admissions of extended family members and workers – makes little sense with some 25 million Americans either unemployed or relegated to part-time work. And the third – amnesty for millions of illegal aliens – is anathema to their sense of justice and fair play.As Americans well know, declaring “Mission Accomplished” and actually accomplishing a mission are two completely different things. When it comes to enforcing immigration laws, the only message the public is receiving from this administration is “Mission Aborted.” *MEXICANOCCUPATION.blogspot.com*Lou Dobbs Tonight Monday, September 28, 2009

And T.J. BONNER, president of the National Border Patrol Council, will weigh in on the federal government’s decision to pull nearly 400 agents from the U.S.-Mexican border. As always, Lou will take your calls to discuss the issues that matter most-and to get your thoughts on where America is headed. *

The San Diego County Office of Education began distributing the guides because students from families living in the U.S. illegally were having difficulty concentrating in class, according to the local newspaper that first reported the story. *Public School Guide To Help Illegal Aliens Avoid Deportation• View• DiscussionLast Updated: Mon, 10/04/2010 - 3:15pm In an effort to help illegal alien students concentrate in the classroom, public schools in a major U.S. county are distributing special guides on how to avoid deportation during immigration raids. The manual advises students of their rights during encounters with federal authorities and directs them to protect themselves by refraining from giving government officials information about their immigration status, not carrying certain documents from another country and insisting on speaking to a lawyer. It also instructs students not to open the door if immigration agents come knocking at home and warns that government officials may try to intimidate or trick illegal immigrants into signing documents. The San Diego County Office of Education began distributing the guides because students from families living in the U.S. illegally were having difficulty concentrating in class, according to the local newspaper that first reported the story. Teachers actually approached the agency worried that some immigrant students couldn’t focus on academics, according to a San Diego education director quoted in the article. The experience of one teenage mother in particular convinced officials of the need to distribute the pamphlets. The teenager came home from school and her parents were gone because they had been deported, leaving her responsible to care for her younger siblings as well as her own child. The girl called her teacher, say education officials, who decided at that moment to distribute written material to address future incidents. Featuring an animation of a muscular immigration agent hauling away a mustachioed illegal alien in handcuffs, the manuals come with a handy, wallet-sized “know your rights” card.

*WHERE DO LEGALS GET FREE LEGAL HELP FROM HAVING TO PAY FOR THE MEXICAN WELFARE SYSTEM, LOST JOBS TO ILLEGALS, OR VICTIMS OF MEXICAN TERRORISM, GANG MURDER, CAR THEFT AND VIOLENCE?*They were written by attorneys at a controversial, taxpayer-funded advocacy group (Casa de Maryland) that helps illegal immigrants by operating day laborer facilities and offering free legal services. The group says that schools as far away as Hawaii have requested the guides, clearly reflecting the “fear that the immigrant community faces.” Click here to see dozens of public records that Judicial Watch has obtained on Casa de Maryland in an ongoing effort to stop the public funding of day laborer centers. *WHILE ALL LA RAZA DEMS ARE WORKING FOR AMNESTY AND MEX SUPREMACY, SOME REPUBLICANS THINK LAWS SHOULD APPLY TO ILLEGALS. HERE’S ONE:Apr 28, 2010Calif. congressman wants to deport children of illegal immigrantsIn answer to a question from an audience member at a "tea party" rally in Ramona, Calif., Saturday, Republican U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter said he would support deporting the children of illegal immigrants, the Los Angeles Times reports.Here is a link to the video on You Tube.An audience member asked Hunter, "Would you support deportation of natural-born American citizens that are the children of illegal aliens?"Hunter responded, "I would have to, yes."The congressman continued, "It's a complex issue and ... you could look and say, 'You're a mean guy. That's a mean thing to do. That's not a humanitarian thing to do.' " Hunter added, "We simply cannot afford what we're doing right now. We just can't afford it. California's going under."The congressman confirmed the comments to the North County Times and told the newspaper that he also supports House Resolution 1868, introduced last year but stalled in a House committee. The measure calls for the elimination of automatic citizenship of children born in the United States to illegal immigrants.At the Saturday gathering, Hunter said, "It takes more than just walking across the border to become an American citizen - it's what's in our souls."*SPREAD THE WORD!MEXICANOCCUPATION.blogspot.comUSCFILE.orgCut and paste articles and post email all over the country!REPORT ILLEGALS TO: 1-866-DHS-2-ICE.JUDICIALWATCH.org

*The Violent Crimes Institute in Atlanta is a real place. They did a real study. These are the real results. 'Based on a one-year in-depth study, Deborah Schurman-Kauflin of the Violent Crimes Institute of Atlanta estimates there are about 240,000 illegal immigrant sex offenders in the United States who have had an average of four victims each. She analyzed 1,500 cases from January 1999 through April 2006 that included serial rapes, serial murders, sexual homicides and child molestation committed by illegal immigrants.'

FBI DIRECTOR: GANGS 2006

"The violent MS-13 - or Mara Salvatrucha - street gang is following the migratory routes of illegal aliens across the country, FBI officials say, calling the Salvadoran gang the new American mafia. MS-13, has a significant presence in the Washington area, and other gangs are spreading into small towns and suburbs by following illegal aliens seeking work in places such as Providence, R.I., and the Carolinas, FBI task force director Robert Clifford said.

95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.83% of warrants for murder in Phoenix are for illegal aliens. 86% of warrants for murder in Albuquerque are for illegal aliens.

75% of those on the most wanted list in Los Angeles, Phoenix and Albuquerque are illegal aliens. 24.9% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally

40.1% of all inmates in Arizona detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally

48.2% of all inmates in New Mexico detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally

29% (630,000) convicted illegal alien felons fill our state and federal prisons at a cost of $1.6 billion annually 53% plus of all investigated burglaries reported in California, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and Texas are perpetrated by illegal aliens. 50% plus of all gang members in Los Angeles are illegal aliens from south of the border.

71% plus of all apprehended cars stolen in 2005 in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California were stolen by Illegal aliens or “transport coyotes". 47% of cited/stopped drivers in California have no license, no insurance and no registration for the vehicle. Of that 47%, 92% are illegal aliens. 63% of cited/stopped drivers in Arizona have no license, no insurance and no registration for the vehicle. Of that 63%, 97% are illegal aliens 66% of cited/stopped drivers in New Mexico have no license, no insurance and no registration for the vehicle. Of that 66% 98% are illegal aliens.BIRTH STATISTICS 380,000 plus “anchor babies” were born in the U.S. in 2005 to illegal alien parents, making 380,000 babies automatically U.S. citizens. 97.2% of all costs incurred from those births were paid by the American taxpayers. 66% plus of all births in California are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal whose births were paid for by taxpayers

DO THE DEMS EVER WORK FOR ANYONE BUT THEIR BANKSTER DONORS AND ILLEGALS???

*There’s noting BOXER, FEINSTEIN, PELOSI, AND LOFGREN will not do to advance the LA RAZA DEMS’ BIT BY BIT AMNESTY AND MEX SUPREMACY!senators who voted to give illegal aliens Social Security benefitsThe following are the senators who voted to give illegal aliens Social Security benefits.

They are grouped by home state. If a state is not listed, there was no voting representative.

THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES NEEDS TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION.....

UNLESS THEY DON'T MIND SHARING THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY WITH FOREIGN WORKERS WHO DIDN'T PAY A DIME INTO IT..... • it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests*

AN AMERICAN SEES & SPEAKS:

We can send money to third world countries that hate us, we can reward foreign nationals who break into our country illegally by granting their children citizenship while paying the costs of prenatal care and births then continue to pay with our social services. We can give our lawmakers and government workers cost of living increases and even allow those who paid nothing to suck off our Social Security. Yet, our seniors go without after paying for this country their entire lives. If this is progress from the progressives, then give me regression.

*NO SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS BOOST EXPECTED FOR 2011…. But they’ll create a PATHWAY TO SOCIAL SECURITY FOR ILLEGALS JUST THE SAME!

No Social Security benefits boost expected for 2011 WASHINGTON (AP) — As if voters don't have enough to be angry about this election year, the government is expected to announce this week that more than 58 million Social Security recipients will go through another year without an increase in their monthly benefits.It would mark only the second year without an increase since automatic adjustments for inflation were adopted in 1975. The first year was this year.

"If you're the ruling party, this is not the sort of thing you want to have happening two weeks before an election," said Andrew Biggs, a former deputy commissioner at the Social Security Administration and now a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

"It's not the congressional Democrats' fault, but that's the way politics works," Biggs said. "A lot of people will feel hostile about it."

The cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs, are automatically set each year by an inflation measure that was adopted by Congress back in the 1970s. Based on inflation so far this year, the trustees who oversee Social Security project there will be no COLA for 2011.

The projection will be made official on Friday, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases inflation estimates for September. The timing couldn't be worse for Democrats as they approach an election in which they are in danger of losing their House majority, and possibly their Senate majority as well.

This past Friday, the same bureau delivered another painful blow to Democrats: The U.S. lost 95,000 jobs in September and unemployment remained stubbornly stuck at 9.6%.

Democrats have been working hard to make Social Security an election-year issue, running political ads and holding press conferences to accuse Republicans of plotting to privatize the national retirement program.

This week's announcement about Social Security benefits raises more immediate concerns for older Americans whose savings and home values still haven't recovered from the financial collapse: Many haven't had a raise since January 2009, and they won't be getting one until at least January 2012.

"While people aren't getting COLAs they certainly feel like they're falling further and further behind, particularly in this economy," said David Certner, AARP's legislative policy director. "People are very reliant on Social Security as a major portion of their income and, quite frankly, they have counted on the COLA over the years."

Social Security was the primary source of income for 64% of retirees who got benefits in 2008, according to the Social Security Administration. A third relied on Social Security for at least 90% of their income.

A little more than 58.7 million people receive Social Security or Supplemental Security Income. The average Social Security benefit is about $1,072 a month.

Social Security recipients got a one-time bonus payment of $250 in the spring of 2009 as part of the government's massive economic recovery package. President Barack Obama lobbied for another one last fall when it became clear seniors wouldn't get an increase in monthly benefit payments in 2010.

Congress took up the issue, but a proposal by Sen. Bernie Sanders died when 12 Democrats and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut joined Senate Republicans to block it. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine was the only Republican to support the second bonus payment.

Sanders, I-Vt., said he expects older voters to be angry when they learn there will be no increase for the second straight year.

"I do think there's going to be political fallout," Sanders said. "Many seniors who are spending a lot of money on health care and prescription drugs really are going to find it hard to believe that there has been no inflationary costs to their purchasing needs."

Federal law requires the Social Security Administration to base annual payment increases on the consumer price index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, which measures inflation. Officials compare inflation in the third quarter of each year emdash /> the months of July, August and September emdash /> with the same months in the previous year.

If inflation increases from year to year, Social Security recipients automatically get higher payments, starting in January. If inflation is negative, the payments stay unchanged.

Social Security payments increased by 5.8% in 2009, the largest increase in 27 years, after energy prices spiked in 2008.

But energy prices quickly dropped. For example, average gasoline prices topped $4 a gallon in the summer of 2008. But by January 2009, they had fallen below $2. Today, the national average is roughly $2.70 a gallon.

As a result, Social Security recipients got an increase in 2009 that was far larger than actual inflation. However, they won't get another increase until inflation exceeds the level measured in 2008. The Social Security trustees project that will happen next year, resulting in a small increase in benefits for 2012.

Social Security spokesman Mark Lassiter said the agency has no leeway to increase payments if the inflation measurement doesn't call for it.

Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., chairman of the Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security, has introduced a new bill to provide $250 payments to seniors, if there is no increase in Social Security. Maybe, he said, there will be more of an appetite in Congress to pass it after lawmakers hear from voters in November.

"Costs of living are inevitably going up, regardless of what that formula says," Pomeroy said. "Seniors in particular have items such as uncovered drug costs, medical costs, utility increases, and they're on fixed incomes."*“Records show that four out of Obama's top five contributors are employees of financial industry giants - Goldman Sachs ($571,330), UBS AG ($364,806), JPMorgan Chase ($362,207) and Citigroup ($358,054). “

OBAMA’S PLAN TO PAY FOR HIS BANKSTERS’ LOOTING OF AMERICA – Cut Social Security!

J.P. MORGAN IS ONE OF THE BANKSTER PRESIDENT’S BIGGEST DONORS! THEY’VE MADE OUT VERY WELL WITH THEIR BOY IN THE WHITE HOUSE!

“In one session, Hans-Werner Sinn of the University of Munich declared that Americans will “just have to go down in their living standards after years in which their living standards soared in part based on foreign credit which is no longer there.” And Jacob Frenkel, chairman of JP Morgan Chase International “urged the United States to rein in entitlements as part of a ‘political deal’ that recognizes reality,” according to an Associated Press account of the conference. JP Morgan has received tens of billions in loans, debt buy-downs, and direct cash infusions from the federal government.”

Simpson’s commission, established earlier this year by an Obama executive order to rein in budget deficits, is reportedly considering several measures, including raising the retirement age, perhaps to as high as 70, and cutting benefits as well as cost-of-living increases. It is expected to announce its recommendations in December—not accidentally, one month after the November elections.

OBAMA KEEPS CORPORATE RULING CLASS HAPPY!“The class character of the calls for “sacrifice” and “responsibility” is increasingly naked. Even as Washington prepares for drastic cuts to Social Security and all manner of social spending, Congress appears likely to extend or make permanent the Bush-era tax cuts for the extremely wealthy, which have cost the federal government trillions of dollars.”

*(as they plan to pay for banksters’ rape and pillage by cutting social security, they’re also planning to hand it to illegals! YOUR CORRUPT HISPANDERING LA RAZA DEM AT WORK)WSWS.org … get on their free no ads emails!

US ruling class prepares attack on Social Security8 September 2010Prominent figures in the US ruling elite have recently made a series of statements that forewarn of massive cuts in social spending, up to and including Social Security, the bedrock federal insurance entitlement for elderly and disabled workers.These comments reveal that, whatever the precise outcome of the midterm elections on November 7, they will set the stage for a bipartisan assault, in the name of “fiscal responsibility,” on what remains of the social reforms of the last century.The knives are already being sharpened for a long-awaited attack on Social Security. In a rude and provocative e-mail to the president of the Older Women’s League dated August 23, former Republican Senator Alan Simpson—appointed by President Obama as co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform—revealed his deep hatred of both Social Security and the working people who depend upon it.Social Security “has reached a point now where it’s like a milk cow with 310 million tits! [sic],” Simpson said. He blasted its recipients—retirees, those maimed and sickened by their work, and dependent survivors of dead workers—who, he said “milk it to the last degree.”In an earlier outburst—in June, Simpson was caught on tape berating an independent journalist— he revealed the ruthless logic behind the ruling class drive for cuts: Workers, whom Simpson dubbed “the lesser people,” live too long. When Social Security was created “they never dreamed that the life expectancy would go from 57 years of age to 78 or 75 or whatever,” Simpson said. “Who would dream that? No one. They just died.”Simpson’s commission, established earlier this year by an Obama executive order to rein in budget deficits, is reportedly considering several measures, including raising the retirement age, perhaps to as high as 70, and cutting benefits as well as cost-of-living increases. It is expected to announce its recommendations in December—not accidentally, one month after the November elections.There is unanimity in the ruling class in favor of the attack on Social Security. Co-chairing the Fiscal Responsibility commission is Erskine Bowles, formerly a White House chief of staff to Bill Clinton, and another long-time advocate of Social Security “reform.” And signaling the trade union bureaucracy’s active collaboration, Andy Stern, former president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), also sits on the commission.“I agree with many Commissioners who have said that all entitlement programs should be on the table,” Stern has declared. “We should include as part of our agenda ideas for strengthening the private parts of the retirement security system, reviewing both the adequacy and the solvency of the Social Security system, and the possibility of universal add-on retirement accounts.”Deepening the fiscal attack on the working class in the US, Europe and internationally was also the primary topic for discussion at the Ambrosetti Forum held last week on the shores of Italy’s elite Lake Como. Attended by political figures such as Spain’s José María Aznar, Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Henry Kissinger from the US and Israeli President Shimon Peres, as well as numerous European Union functionaries, top bankers, businessmen and academicians, the forum provides a sounding board for policies that few politicians would dare identify themselves with in public.In one session, Hans-Werner Sinn of the University of Munich declared that Americans will “just have to go down in their living standards after years in which their living standards soared in part based on foreign credit which is no longer there.” And Jacob Frenkel, chairman of JP Morgan Chase International “urged the United States to rein in entitlements as part of a ‘political deal’ that recognizes reality,” according to an Associated Press account of the conference. JP Morgan has received tens of billions in loans, debt buy-downs, and direct cash infusions from the federal government.The attack on entitlements and social spending is the second phase in a broad offensive against the living conditions of the entire working class, following quickly on the heels of the unprecedented attack on jobs and wages spearheaded by the Obama administration’s forced reorganization of the auto industry.Workers are being conditioned to accept what is referred to as “the new normal” typified by low wages and benefits and the total absence of any form of social protection. Or, in the blunter words of Fiat head Sergio Marchionne, US workers must accept a “culture of poverty,” abandoning what he contemptuously referred to as a “culture of entitlement.”The class character of the calls for “sacrifice” and “responsibility” is increasingly naked. Even as Washington prepares for drastic cuts to Social Security and all manner of social spending, Congress appears likely to extend or make permanent the Bush-era tax cuts for the extremely wealthy, which have cost the federal government trillions of dollars.Peter Orszag, until July 30 Obama’s director of the Office of Management and the Budget, in a Tuesday column for the New York Times called for a two-year extension of the Bush-era tax cuts for the richest income earners. In the very same article, Orszag called for Social Security “reform,” a 5 percent cut to discretionary social spending, a 6 percent value added sales tax, and higher taxes on “middle-class and lower-class families,” which he called “troubling” but “unavoidable.”The sharp move toward austerity and the attack being prepared on Social Security stand as a testament to the bankruptcy of American democracy. The upcoming election and the official debate that surrounds it—including Obama’s latest in a series of purely symbolic jobs proposals—only aim to disorient the population.The basic thrust of US policy has already been determined. The ruling class is determined to shift the full burden of the financial and economic crisis onto the working class. In this context, the widely anticipated gains for Republicans in the election are already being presented as evidence that the demand for attacks on social spending originate in the population itself.This is a lie. In fact, the objective interests of the great majority of the population—suffering through the worst social crisis in generations—demand a massive jobs program, free universal health care, secure retirement, improved quality and access to education and culture, and other social rights necessary for life in modern mass society.The trajectory set by the ruling financial aristocracy is in precisely the opposite direction. The attack on living conditions will continue and deepen until the working class mobilizes its independent political strength to bring it to a halt.Tom EleyWSWS.org … get on their free no ads emails!